Glassworks Firm Fits The Mold

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WWR Article Summary (tl;dr)Entrepreneur Holly Kenny’s new business “Elsie Kaye Glassworks” which gets its name from Kenny’s daughter will offer both classes in glasswork and crafts.

WESTBOROUGH

Holly Kenny’s interest in glasswork began 10 years ago after she took a class on the topic.

“I used to do health policy research,” she said. “My son had recently been born, and I was looking for something to do — a diversion. From the first couple of classes, I was hooked.”

That interest grew into something bigger, and culminated this weekend with the grand opening of a boutique and studio for Kenny’s business, Elsie Kaye Glassworks. It gets its name from Kenny’s daughter.

The entrepreneur been in business for years, but this marks a new home base for Kenny, who had previously worked out of a basement studio.

The new Westborough space will offer both classes and crafts, she said.

“I wanted to share my love of glasswork,” she said, noting that people seem to light up when they see the craft being performed. “It’s also a home base for my items.”

Among the goods for sale will include kitchenware — such as platters, bowls and spoons — and items such as charm bracelets, magnifying glasses and letter openers. Other artists will offer classes at the studio as well, Kenny said; a “metal clay” artist will be giving lessons there soon.

Kenny got the idea for opening the space after the closure of the Westboro Gallery a few years ago — something she said left a void in the local arts scene. She said, as a Westborough resident herself, placing the studio in town made sense.

“I do the Westborough farmers market every week, and I think I’ve built a really nice home base here,” she said. “I looked at Southborough, Framingham and Marlborough, but I wanted to stay as close as I could — my kids go to school here — and there’s no other business like this around.”